Lodbjerg lighthouse

One of the gems of Thy National Park is Lodbjerg Lighthouse which stands alone in the middle of the large heath and plantation area. The lighthouse was built in 1883 and was lit for the first time on 28 November 1884. The lighthouse is 35 metres tall with a light 48 metres above sea level.

Light in the dark

Lodbjerg Lighthouse is a so-called approach light, and its bright light has helped ships in to make a landfall and navigate in the coastal waters. Lodbjerg Lighthouse still lights with two white flashes of 20 seconds each. From the top of the lighthouse, there is a full view of dune heaths and the sea.

The listed light house complex consists of the lighthouse itself, and two parallel buildings that served as homes for the lighthouse staff. Here the lighthouse keeper and two assistants lived with their families, and, as their nearest neighbours were far away, this was a small isolated community. In 1883, there were no trees, but today the plantation provides shelter in the lighthouse garden.

The lighthouse is open to visitors during the day. At the entrance is a poster exhibition on the history of lighthouses and the area. The lighthouse has a primitive campsite with a shelter, and it is a beautiful spot to spend the night and watch the flashing lighthouse.

A trip on the dune heath

Creeping willow, heather, crowberry, cranberry and bog bilberry, bog myrtle, bell heather, mouse-ear hawkweed and several species of sundew grow on the dune heaths. On the outer dunes, the hardy galea grows, and with its huge root system, it is particularly good at securing and binding the dunes.

North of Lodbjerg Lighthouse lie two beautiful groups of grave mounds, totalling nine altogether. Pollen analyses from excavations show that this area was covered by forest in the Stone Age. The forest included lime trees, oak trees and hornbeam. Later the analyses include more and more pollen from heather, which tells us that the first peasants in the area cleared the forest to cultivate the land, and after a short period of cultivation the heather took over the area.